Deputy Prime Minister Lê Văn Thành inspects a warehouse belonging to the Vinmart supermarket chain in District 7 on August 24. He said he trusts the city to distribute food to all its residents. – Photo vietnamnet.vn

HCM CITY – Deputy Prime Minister Lê Văn Thành hopes HCM City can ensure smooth distribution of food to the public as it begins two weeks of strict COVID-19 restrictions.

He, Defence Minister General Phan Văn Giang, and various city officials inspected large distributors and warehouses and visited the 175 Military Hospital and people’s homes in Bình Tân District yesterday.

After checking food supply chains, Thành hailed the city for efficient distribution of food and foodstuffs based on the Government’s instructions.

It is doing a good job of providing goods to disadvantaged people, and a wide variety of products are available to the public at stable prices, he said.

People cannot go out to buy any of the goods he referred to, but the city has been working to ensure that they have access to food without having to leave home during the two weeks of tough COVID-19 prevention measures starting on August 23.

Trade groups and unions are working with the police and military to deliver food and other essential goods directly to people once a week to meet their grocery needs.

But according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s special working group, city authorities need to co-operate more closely with retailers and keep them informed about local demand so that they could stock up sufficiently.

Supermarket chains are selling various combinations of essential goods in packs at different price levels.

District 3 Women’s Union members shop at a supermarket to provide groceries and foods to people, who have been told to stay at home as part of HCM City’s strict COVID-19 preventive measures. – VNA Photo

A Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development working group is piloting an initiative to supply agricultural produce combo packs to HCM City consumers, each containing 10 kilogrammes of various vegetables, fruits and meats, depending on price.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Trần Thanh Nam said the initiative is getting support from Mekong Delta provinces that supply the produce as well as businesses in HCM City.

Businesses can sign up for the pilot programme, and their vehicles that transport the packs to buyers will receive passes.

A storage network has been set up to supply the city with up to 100,000 packs a day.

Ministries resolve transport difficulties

Two working groups from the Ministries of Industry and Trade and Transport (led by deputy ministers) have worked together to tackle goods transport difficulties in HCM City.

HCM City, Việt Nam’s COVID-19 epicentre with over 180,000 cases, is tightening prevention measures until September 15 under the Government's Resolution 86 in the hope of containing the outbreak.

It has told people to "stay where they are” at all times, and strictly follow safe distancing between individuals, families, residential areas, and wards. – VNS